We Are Ready To Fight Boko Haram – Female Hunter, Ladi

They may be known as the
weaker s*x but in the battle to
flush out Boko Haram from
Nigerian territory, they stand
equal with their male
counterparts. Fearless, pretty
and bold, the female hunters of
Adamawa State fear neither
man nor woman. To them, the
common enemy is not their
gender but Boko Haram.
Ladi is a dark-skinned young
lady in her 20s. Looking at her,
you would hardly believe that
she possesses the boldness to
confront members of the
terrorist sect. In fact, you
would pass her off as a young
man due to her masculine
features but she is in all
respects a lady. She smiles as
the reporter gapes at her,
wondering whether he is seeing
double. But she told Sunday
New Telegraph that she was
motivated by the desire to join
in the effort to save her nation
from the rampaging terrorists.
She is not alone, our
correspondent gathered, as
there are a number of female
hunters engaged in the Civilian
Joint Task Force. They are all
part of a civilian vigilante
coalition known as Ibn
Fadlallah’s forces. Barely
literate and armed with dane
guns as well as bows and
arrows, they risk lives helping
the armed forces to hunt
members of the sect in the
jungles of the North-East states
of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
Asked why she mustered the
courage to join the effort, Ladi
replied: “Boko Haram’s days
are numbered. We are not
afraid and we are ever ready to
fight them. “Me, fear death?
Never. This is because I believe
that we shall all taste it
someday,’’ said Ladi, with
boldness etched on her face.
Ladi, like other male volunteers
was optimistic that, with
support and motivation they
would succeed. “I can assure
you that, with support,
encouragement and assistance
we can play our own role in
fighting the monster called
Boko Haram.
“We need support from
government and individuals to
cater for our families,” she
added, brandishing her dane
gun. Though she is married,
she declined to disclose
personal details for security
reasons. Ladi and her
colleagues say they dare to
confront the insurgents with
the inferior weapons in their
hands, vowing that, “If you are
committed and have faith in
God, you will succeed. We know
they (Boko Haram) are using
sophisticated weapons, but that
will not deter us from facing
them squarely. “They thought
we would be afraid; never! One
can kill a snake with his or her
little stick; commitment,
resilience and above all faith
are the key factors,” she
concluded.
Ladi is part of the large army
of hunters and CJTF which
battled Boko Haram after it
tried to install Amirs (leaders)
in Maiha, a town in Adamawa
State. They foiled the move and
killed several members of the
sect. The civilian force also
helped the armed forces to
liberate some of the captured
towns.
A state government official
involved in the recruitment of
the hunters and CJTF told our
correspondent that it was in
order to stem the tide that the
idea of drafting the local
hunters allegedly versed in the
use of voodoo powers came up.
“We are in doubt about the
sincerity of Nigerian soldiers in
the whole operation, and we
sense complicity as what is
happening. It could not have
been possible without any form
of collusion, so we began to
think of other options,” said a
community leader in Mubi,
AbdurRahman Kwacham.
Afterwards, the civilian force
was mobilised to tackle the
insurgents. Ibn Fadlalallah’s
army of local hunters,
vigilantes and CJTF members
were said to have been
mobilised by creating alliances
with towns to fortify and
defend themselves against Boko
Haram. “These brave warriors
have promised to liberate the
North-East from Boko Haram.
They are preparing and
engaging in combat in
Adamawa and Borno. All brave
citizens have been invited to
join the legions,” said a
community leader who didn’t
want to be named. In the first
operation, the local hunters and
vigilante group were reported
to have overwhelmed the
insurgents. They confronted
the militants in their hundreds,
killing dozens of the extremists
and recapturing the town.
Residents said the local hunters
were stationed in some areas
for four days, mapping out
strategies on how to recapture
Mubi before they finally took
on the insurgents. However, the
recapture of the towns by the
civilian force elicited jubilation,
with residents chanting songs of
victory to God.